Yearly Archives: 2019

A Year Filled with Wisdom.

When we launched our Quote to Self project this past February, we were unsure where it would take us, who we would meet and if people would even participate. Asking the question “What advice would you give to your 15-year-old self?” turned into more than we expected. Check out a few highlights from our team:

• We met a man in Budapest who was reading on a bench by the Danube. When we asked him “The Question,” he thought about it, shook his head and said, “I can’t. That is too big of a question.” We were walking around a nearby park about an hour later when the same man came up to us and said excitedly, “OK, I have an answer now. I would tell myself not to be afraid. Fear is a lie. You can do whatever you want and be whatever you want to be.” We felt honored that he took the time to find us.
• On a very hot June afternoon, we came across a photographer from California who was visiting Minneapolis. He answered our question in an extremely positive manner: “It will work out, and in the end you’ll get to where you’re trying to go. Crawl before you walk, crawl before you walk.” We laughed with him and had a short conversation. Afterward, he took our photo and we parted ways.
• In Prague, on the Charles Bridge, we met a Scottish man who now lives and works in Prague. He said he rarely goes to the touristy parts of the city but felt the urge to visit that day. He, like most others we met, was skeptical upon our approach but quickly warmed up. We had a great five- to 10-minute conversation (much longer than most of our interactions), and at the end he said he was so glad he decided to follow his urge to be a tourist that day. His advice: “I trust my 15-year-old self to be the same as my now 50-year-old self. And I wouldn’t try to ask my 50-year-old self to give advice to me because I’m the same man as I was then and the same person. I don’t need to advise me and I couldn’t advise him.”
• We asked a mother at United Noodle (an Asian marketplace) with two kids under the age of 7 – one in her arms and another at her feet. At first she was flustered by the commotion and our request, but then she paused to think about it and looked at her kids. Her response was a mixture of reflecting on her life and thinking about her kids. It stayed with us because it was such a great dynamic of looking into the past and the future.

Now, that’s just a snippet of what happened in the last 10 months. To see more stories, visit our Quote to Self webpage or our Instagram gallery.

A Year to Celebrate.

As we reflect on 2019, our thoughts encompass joy, achievements, and also what we’ve learned. Yet if we had to describe the past year in one word, it’s definitely celebratory.

Here’s just a quick recap of what happened at Fusion Hill in 2019:

• We celebrated 15 years of business by giving back to five global organizations.
• We donated our research, strategy and creative services to help a nonprofit called Freeset deepen their global impact by shifting their brand positioning and developing fresh new creative.
• We launched a project called Quote to Self that took us across the globe to India, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
• Our director of research and strategy, Nina Gazel, won AdFed’s 32 Under 32 award.
• Our team went to 15 conferences around the U.S. and on one trend trip to Japan.

Heading into the busy holiday season, we hope you’ll find a moment to reflect on the joys 2019 has brought you too. And we hope Thanksgiving brings you time to relax and enjoy the people who are most important in your life.

See you soon, 2020.

Public Sector.

Whether we’re closely following an election or simply grabbing a cup of coffee in a crowded café, there’s a good chance we’ll hear someone mention taxes – and what our taxes pay for at the local, state or federal level.

While opinions abound (and we’re certainly not here to give one), one thing we’ve been thinking about lately is the people compensated by those tax dollars. No, not just the politicians making the news. The everyday people: firefighters, snowplow operators, public defenders, librarians, mail carriers and beyond.

What’s life like for people who work in the public sector? Is their experience different than it is for those of us in the private sector? Learn more in our latest insight.

Embrace All Your Passions.

Do you remember when your parents enrolled you in multiple extracurricular activities? It wasn’t a secret that they wanted to keep us occupied and busy throughout the year. Activities varied from sports to art classes, acting, dancing or music lessons. We loved bits and pieces of each activity, but we ultimately focused on one or two we enjoyed the most.

At our 15^th anniversary party, we asked guests to interact with our Quote to Self exhibit and give advice to their 15-year-old selves. One partygoer, Grace, submitted advice that really stuck with us.

“Readily embrace all your passions. You don’t need to choose one.”

We reflected on how participating in different activities added a little excitement to our lives. We got to meet new people and really express ourselves. So why not make time for the activities you love to do? It might bring out the kid in you.

If you have a nugget of wisdom to share, visit our Quote to Self website to participate. Your advice is important and we want to hear from you!

Follow our Quote to Self Instagram and Facebook pages to see other advice we’ve collected thus far.

4A’s StratFest 2019 Findings: Welcome to the Age of the Empowered Citizen.

Today’s consumers are asking companies to be increasingly transparent, innovative and plugged in to public discourse. Brands are reacting by placing the customer at the very center of their business decisions. At StratFest in New York City, our team explored how brand strategy is evolving in an increasingly consumer-centric landscape. Here are two of our key takeaways.

Consumers want brands to recognize them as people¹

As the rise of IoT, AI and voice assistants makes us more informed and engaged, the influx of information has also fueled a loss of trust between brands and the public – a public that is more critical and more aware than ever before of the value they represent to brands and advertisers.

Brands can start to rebuild trust by recognizing that consumer needs generally boil down to a few basic things. The four essential customer needs listed below can be used as guiding principles for brands trying to (re)build trust with their customers:

• People want new and meaningful abilities: Brands can offer products and services that align with the needs of their customers.
• People want to get better at something: Brands can show how they can help support the customer’s goal.
• People want personal connection: Brands can recognize customers as people with hopes, values, talents and flaws.
• People want purpose: While it is unrealistic to expect brands to give purpose to their customers, brands can show humility about how they can fit into and improve their customers’ lives.

Humility can launch brands to the forefront²

Leading brands used to inspire consumers to think about the very edge of what is possible – far beyond what the average customer could likely achieve. And brands placed themselves at the center of their customers’ universe – overstepping in their promise of life-changing results from something like a sneaker or a credit card.

But in the age of Instagram and self-care, consumers have become “their own personal heroes” and aspire on an individual level. They want brands to support them in their journey and to validate their goals, values and beliefs.

Brand leaders now mirror everyday people: Casper Sleep stands up to a category that is too complicated and too expensive; Fenty leads the charge in representing people of color in fashion industry advertising; and Tesla recognized it couldn’t realistically address the carbon crisis on its own, so it open-sourced all its patents.

To better connect with consumers, brands can incorporate the five key aspects of the humble brand.

The humble brand is:

• True to itself: It owns who it is.
• Accessible: It is approachable and doesn’t promote an unattainable dream.
• Self-aware: It knows its role in the lives of consumers and doesn’t overstep in the way brands used to.
• Ever-evolving: It admits to mistakes and commits to improvement.
• Responsive: It prioritizes consumer relationships over sales.

In this new paradigm, successful brands have shifted from inspiring fantastical dreams to adopting a more humble, human-scale approach to connecting with consumers. The customer is now at the center of the brand’s universe, rather than the other way around.

1. Rishad Tobaccowala, chief growth officer, Publicis Groupe.
2. Chris Konya, principal and managing director, Sylvain Labs.

Enjoy Your Journey.

Over the course of our Quote to Self project, we’ve had candid conversations with family, friends and even strangers we meet on the street about what advice they would give their 15-year-old selves. We’ve encountered people who knew instantly and others who were caught off guard and took some time to reflect. It seems that we are all reminded of how life is short, and it seems that as you get older, the years go by even quicker. We turn to Jeff’s quote, which articulates the value of enjoying life’s journey.

“Sometimes a 15-year-old has to grow up fast, so you gotta be ready for anything. Buckle up – you only get one chance to enjoy this journey called life.”

The unique objective of this project is that we have allowed everyone to take a moment to reflect on their lives and see the growth they’ve experienced that has made them who they are today. Check out our Quote to Self website to see the inspiring advice we have collected over the course of the year.

If you have a nugget of wisdom to share with us, visit our Quote to Self website to participate. We want to hear from you!

Follow our Quote to Self Instagram and Facebook pages to see other advice we’ve collected thus far.

Marketing to Generations.

Five different generations now have purchasing power, so how are companies figuring out how to best serve each of these generations individually? Mostly by conducting research to learn how behaviors among generations can impact marketing campaigns and purchasing habits. We attended a recent conference at the Carlson School of Management whose goal was to answer this question. Eight keynote speakers presented, including representatives from Target, Under Armour, Starbucks and Electronic Arts.

One part of the conference that particularly stood out to us was the talk by Linh Peters, vice president of brand marketing for Starbucks. In 2017, Starbucks was attempting to relaunch its Nitro Cold Brew coffee, trying to make it relevant nationwide. Through qualitative research, Starbucks found that the taste and texture of the coffee were what resonated with customers most strongly. However, at the same time customers were confused about how the nitro process connects to that taste and texture experience. So Starbucks had to build understanding and believability when relaunching the Nitro Cold Brew. Its strategy included bringing on Bill Nye (“the Science Guy”) as a spokesperson for the campaign, with hopes of educating customers on the nitro process in a less technical fashion. Nye was brought in also because he resonates with multiple generations, and Nitro Cold Brew was intended to appeal to the mass market.

This case study and others from this conference started us thinking about how our clients are figuring out the best ways to reach their core consumers and what research they might be conducting in order to improve their own strategy. How is your company tackling the ever-changing consumer market? Connect with us to continue the conversation.

UXPA International Conference.

In June we braved the heat in Scottsdale, Arizona, to join other user experience (UX) professionals, including designers, researchers and academics, to exchange techniques, tools, trends and beyond at the UXPA International Conference. Here are a few takeaways:

Gen Z and Millennials are not the same

Gen Zers were raised differently than Millennials – one study suggests that the average attention span for Gen Zers is 8 seconds, compared to 12 seconds for Millennials. They seek authenticity and are clear/choosy about where they post and look for content. They are impacting the way we spend, the way we make decisions and the way we seek information. Which raises the question “What can Gen Zers tell about you in 8 seconds?”

Universal/inclusive design is helpful to all

With the rise in the use of technology among consumers, the opportunity to enhance the user experience is greatly increased but must be done with care and intention. By designing with inclusion in mind, not only do we enhance the experience for some, but we also can be helpful to all.

Develop individuals, as well as the team

The conference offered insight into trends and tools as well as included sessions on personal development and the importance of diversity and inclusion within the workplace. We learned that in order to retain the best talent, it is important to cultivate and protect an inclusive culture.

First Day of School.

Do you remember the night before the first day of school? The nerves start to settle in, excitement about meeting your new teachers rises and you can barely wait to debut your new school clothes.

At 15 years old, you are most likely entering the 10th grade. You know where the best lunch spots are, school dances are familiar, and you’ve found the best shortcuts to your classes. But throughout the year, the feeling of more responsibility comes upon you.

The questions of “Where do you want to go to college?” “What do you want to study?” and “When are you taking the ACT?” start to consume your free time. We remember those tough conversations and the unfamiliarity of what lies ahead.

We turned to our good friend Annie, whose advice to her younger self speaks volumes about the possibilities that lie ahead for all 15-year-olds.

“Push yourself to dream BEYOND the boundaries of the impossible!”

Our project has gifted us with advice that is valuable not only for every 15-year-old but for all ages. If you have a nugget of wisdom to share with us, visit our Quote to Self website to participate. We want to hear from you!

Follow our Quote to Self Instagram and Facebook pages to see other advice we’ve collected thus far.

A Big Trip for a Big Mission.

Normally, travelers to India avoid the rainy, humid monsoon season that runs from July to September. But our principals, Kerry and Kasey, have packed their umbrellas and traveled to Kolkata, India, for a very special project.

In 2016, we connected with a company called Freeset – located in West Bengal, India – with a mission to provide employees with safe working environments and fair wages as they make organic and eco-friendly apparel and accessory items. We loved their work and ordered custom bags for our 2017 holiday gifts. Since then, we stayed in touch with the team at Freeset and have followed their journey to provide better solutions for those who are impoverished in India.

We are excited to share that we are partnering with Freeset again but in a different way. As a part of our year of giving, we are donating our research, strategy and creative services to help Freeset move into the future and deepen their impact. As part of the research phase, Kerry and Kasey are interviewing employees in Kolkata. Upon their return, our team will develop recommendations for brand positioning and creative development.

We’re thrilled to be working with Freeset to support their mission and will be sharing more details at our 15th anniversary party, so stay tuned! 

Awwwards Digital Thinkers 2019.

Jam-packed into just two days, the Digital Thinkers conference 2019 brought together 26 industry leaders to share their thoughts on the future of the web. Held at the doorstep to Silicon Valley, it featured speakers from some of the largest, most influential digital companies in the world, including Google, Facebook and Airbnb. More than 1,000 attendees from all over the world, including people from our team, gathered at the historic Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco to soak it all in. While we walked away with heads full of inspiration and actionable to-dos, we reflected on our favorite takeaways. Here are just a few:

“The vessel can be as special as the idea itself.”

 – Alex Cornell, Former Product Design Lead at Facebook

Nonconventional presentations were abundant during the conference, from T-shirt cannons to beautifully animated slide decks, and that stuck with us. Nothing was quite as special as Alex Cornell’s time on stage. He took us on a nonlinear path through more of a performance piece than a presentation. He and others proved how an idea can’t sell itself, no matter how excellent. It’s the conversation and context provided alongside the idea that gives it staying power in the mind of the audience. That vessel can be just as weird or complex as the original idea. Brandy Porter, director of brand design at MailChimp, also summed up the importance of weird: “Be weird, and be intentional in that weirdness … When we show our weird, we connect with our customers intimately.”

“All design is designing for the future – immediate, near or far. It’s imagining a desirable state and then giving it form.”

— Lisa Ding, Senior Product Designer at Twitter

Sometimes conversations about the digital space can feel futuristic and far-fetched, making it hard to find actionable solutions for right now. Lisa Ding told us to avoid the darkness that the idea of the future often holds and to embrace the fact that every day we are working toward creating something useful for tomorrow, next week or next year. Erik Klimczak, principal design director at Uber, discussed his methodology of designing at scale to future-proof developments. This methodology assumes every issue is infinitely connected to larger problems creating a need to zoom in and out to see how your solution affects or creates patterns to find the best solution.

“Designers no longer just design components themselves: They design policies that govern a system of components.”

— Hayley Hughes, Experience Designer at Airbnb

Hayley Hughes noted that designers can prove their value by being able to see components from a 30,000-foot view and not just how they physically look on the page. Design systems can help businesses make an efficient, resourceful environment and allow designers to focus on creating solutions that impact human experiences. Building and using a mutual or shared language will help with everything from accessibility to creating seamless teams. Similarly, Peter Smart from global design agency Fantasy Interactive pushed us to commit to getting beyond the most viable product and to design for the full human being: “Convention is just permission to try better … Fill your product with life. If it makes you happy, it will make others happy as well.”

It’s a Small World.

Recently, our principal Kasey Hatzung visited the Portland, Oregon area. There she met a local resident, Levi, and started chatting about what they do, where they live and their life stories. It turns out that Levi is originally from Kolkata, India – the exact city where Kasey and our other principal, Kerry Sarnoski, are visiting this month. She told Levi about our Quote to Self project, and in response Levi gave a simple and impactful one-liner:

“Keep moving forward.”

What advice would you give to your 15-year-old self? If you have a nugget of wisdom to share with us, visit our Quote to Self website to participate. We want to hear from you!

Follow our Quote to Self Instagram and Facebook pages to see other advice we’ve collected thus far.